COORDINATE DETECTING DEVICE AND COORDINATE DETECTING PROGRAM

• US 20120323524A1
• Filed: 06/19/2012
• Published: 12/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hatano, Naoyuki
• Application Number:
  US13/527,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20120323524A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/150
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 7/004 for measuring coordinates of points
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

A coordinate detecting device includes a detecting unit configured to detect the capacitance of each of a plurality of electrodes which are arranged in a predetermined direction, a storage unit configured to store the detected capacitance of each electrode, and an arithmetic processing unit configured to perform an arithmetic process on the basis of the capacitance of each electrode stored in the storage unit. The detecting unit sequentially detects the capacitance of the plurality of electrodes from one end to the other end of the predetermined direction. The arithmetic processing unit determines a coordinate region of a detection target in the predetermined direction on the basis of a comparison value between capacitance variations of adjacent electrodes and the magnitude of the detected capacitance variation of each electrode.

Claims

1. A coordinate detecting device comprising:

a plurality of electrodes arranged in a predetermined direction;

a detecting unit configured to detect the capacitance of each of the plurality of electrodes;

a storage unit configured to store the detected capacitance of each electrode; and

an arithmetic processing unit configured to perform an arithmetic process on the basis of the capacitance of each electrode stored in the storage unit,

wherein the detecting unit sequentially detects the capacitance of the plurality of electrodes from one end to the other end of the predetermined direction, and

the arithmetic processing unit determines a coordinate region of a detection target in the predetermined direction on the basis of a comparison value between capacitance variations of adjacent electrodes and the magnitude of the detected capacitance variation of each electrode.

2. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 1,

wherein the arithmetic processing unit determines an electrode of which an absolute value of the capacitance variation is greater than a first threshold value or an electrode which is adjacent to one end of the electrode and of which an absolute value of the comparison value with the electrode is equal to or greater than a second threshold value among the plurality of electrodes which are sequentially detected to be a start electrode of the coordinate region.

3. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 2,

wherein the arithmetic processing unit checks peak passage electrodes satisfying the condition that the absolute value of the comparison value between a comparison source electrode and a comparison destination electrode which are sequentially adjacent to each other in a detection direction is greater than the second threshold value and the absolute value of the capacitance variation of the comparison source electrode is greater than that of the capacitance variation of the comparison destination electrode, among the electrodes which are detected after the start electrode, and

the arithmetic processing unit determines the comparison source electrode satisfying the condition that the absolute value of the comparison value between the comparison source electrode and the comparison destination electrode which are sequentially adjacent to each other in the detection direction is greater than the second threshold value and the absolute value of the capacitance variation of the comparison source electrode is less than that of the capacitance variation of the comparison destination electrode, or an electrode of which the absolute value of the capacitance variation is less than the first threshold value among the electrodes which are detected after the peak passage electrodes to be an end electrode of the coordinate region.

4. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 1,

wherein, when the detected electrode is at the other end of the predetermined direction, the detecting unit ends the detection.

5. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 2,

wherein, when the detected electrode is at the other end of the predetermined direction, the detecting unit ends the detection.

6. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 3,

wherein, when the detected electrode is at the other end of the predetermined direction, the detecting unit ends the detection.

7. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of orthogonal electrodes arranged in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction,

wherein the arithmetic processing unit determines the coordinate region of the detection target in the orthogonal direction using the same process as that for determining the coordinate region of the detection target in the predetermined direction, and

the arithmetic processing unit determines the larger one of the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the predetermined direction and the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the orthogonal direction to be the number of regions which the detection target touches.

8. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a plurality of orthogonal electrodes arranged in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction,

wherein the arithmetic processing unit determines the coordinate region of the detection target in the orthogonal direction using the same process as that for determining the coordinate region of the detection target in the predetermined direction, and

the arithmetic processing unit determines the larger one of the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the predetermined direction and the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the orthogonal direction to be the number of regions which the detection target touches.

9. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a plurality of orthogonal electrodes arranged in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction,

wherein the arithmetic processing unit determines the coordinate region of the detection target in the orthogonal direction using the same process as that for determining the coordinate region of the detection target in the predetermined direction, and

the arithmetic processing unit determines the larger one of the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the predetermined direction and the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the orthogonal direction to be the number of regions which the detection target touches.

10. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 4, further comprising:

a plurality of orthogonal electrodes arranged in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction,

wherein the arithmetic processing unit determines the coordinate region of the detection target in the orthogonal direction using the same process as that for determining the coordinate region of the detection target in the predetermined direction, and

the arithmetic processing unit determines the larger one of the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the predetermined direction and the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the orthogonal direction to be the number of regions which the detection target touches.

11. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 5, further comprising:

a plurality of orthogonal electrodes arranged in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction,

wherein the arithmetic processing unit determines the coordinate region of the detection target in the orthogonal direction using the same process as that for determining the coordinate region of the detection target in the predetermined direction, and

the arithmetic processing unit determines the larger one of the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the predetermined direction and the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the orthogonal direction to be the number of regions which the detection target touches.

12. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 6, further comprising:

a plurality of orthogonal electrodes arranged in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction,

wherein the arithmetic processing unit determines the coordinate region of the detection target in the orthogonal direction using the same process as that for determining the coordinate region of the detection target in the predetermined direction, and

the arithmetic processing unit determines the larger one of the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the predetermined direction and the number of coordinate regions of the detection target in the orthogonal direction to be the number of regions which the detection target touches.

13. The coordinate detecting device according to claim 1,

wherein the arithmetic processing unit compares the capacitance value of the electrode detected by the detecting unit with a reference capacitance value and calculates the capacitance variation of the electrode.

14. A coordinate input device comprising:

a unit that controls the input of coordinates, the unit comprising a coordinate detecting device comprising;

a plurality of electrodes arranged in a predetermined direction;

a detecting unit configured to detect the capacitance of each of the plurality of electrodes;

a storage unit configured to store the detected capacitance of each electrode; and

an arithmetic processing unit configured to perform an arithmetic process on the basis of the capacitance of each electrode stored in the storage unit,

wherein the detecting unit sequentially detects the capacitance of the plurality of electrodes from one end to the other end of the predetermined direction, and

the arithmetic processing unit determines a coordinate region of a detection target in the predetermined direction on the basis of a comparison value between capacitance variations of adjacent electrodes and the magnitude of the detected capacitance variation of each electrode.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising computer program code stored thereon, executable by a processor, wherein the computer program code comprises a coordinate detecting program that allows a computer to perform an arithmetic process for determining a coordinate region of a detection target on the basis of capacitance variations of a plurality of electrodes which are sequentially detected in a predetermined direction, the program comprising:

a start electrode determining routine configured to determine an electrode of which an absolute value of the capacitance variation is greater than a first threshold value or an electrode which is adjacent to an opposite side of the electrode in a detection direction and of which an absolute value of a comparison value with the electrode is equal to or greater than a second threshold value among the plurality of electrodes which are sequentially detected to be a start electrode of the coordinate region;

a peak passage determining routine configured to check peak passage electrodes satisfying the condition that the absolute value of a comparison value between a comparison source electrode and a comparison destination electrode which are sequentially adjacent to each other in a detection direction is greater than the second threshold value and the absolute value of a capacitance variation of the comparison source electrode is greater than that of a capacitance variation of the comparison destination electrode, among the electrodes which are detected after the start electrode; and

an end electrode determining routine configured to determine the comparison source electrode satisfying the condition that the absolute value of the comparison value between the comparison source electrode and the comparison destination electrode which are sequentially adjacent to each other in the detection direction is greater than the second threshold value and the absolute value of the capacitance variation of the comparison source electrode is less than that of the capacitance variation of the comparison destination electrode, or an electrode of which the absolute value of the capacitance variation is less than the first threshold value among the electrodes which are detected after the peak passage electrodes to be an end electrode of the coordinate region.